


Mercy Blues

by Clara_Parlato



Series: Laugst 2019 [7]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: M/M, Originally Posted on Tumblr, laugst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-18
Updated: 2019-08-18
Packaged: 2020-09-06 12:34:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20291533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Clara_Parlato/pseuds/Clara_Parlato
Summary: “Let’s ask for mercy, Lord, Mercy, to these coward and fogy people” (Blues da Piedade)





	1. Sacrosanct

“You need to understand, Lance. I’m doing this for you!”

_No, she’s not._

_She’s doing it for herself._

Lance looks around the room. They are in a chapel. The pristine condition of the walls and floor contradicts the oldness of the place. Sunshine throws the beautiful imagery of the windows on the white floor. Images of Lions and Stars, and the Holy Paladins of a faded age. The Blue Paladin on the floor is a perfect replica of the one in the golden cage, from the tanned skin to the sorrowful blue eyes.

That is Lance’s reality. A living holy relic, the supposed reincarnation of the purest soul, a caged bird by the hands of the one he had trusted most. Dressed in a long and plain white tunic, sitting inside a golden cage, the only other thing on the altar other than the Sacred Scripture and its pedestal.

He is unsure when Priestess Allura started spiraling down the path of madness, and part of him believes she was always that way, just good at hiding it. All he knows is that one day he was happy and free, the next he was encaged and treated like a sin purifier. He guesses he’s lucky Allura doesn’t let anyone else touch him or even come too close. Only Allura herself can do that, and even then she does it with utmost care, as if he was so precious the simple thought of a nail scratching his skin was an act of heresy.

“You’re God’s gift to this world, the purest of us all, you need to be protected from the tainted world!” She insists, sticking a hand inside the cage and caressing his cheek softly. “Don’t you see? You’re saving us all!”

_No, he’s not._

_He’s not a divine being._

He’s just a man who tried his best to be a good person. He’s just a man who tried his best to be kind. He’s just a man who wanted to love and be loved, and wanted others to love and be loved. He’s just a man who tried to find happiness for him and the ones around him.

“Even if I was holy, your sins would never be forgiven.” He spats, slapping her hand away. “To think I loved you.”

Allura only frowns, but the first followers entering the chapel interrupt whatever comeback she has. She smiles, eyes glinting, and gets up to welcome the people. Lance sighs, closing his eyes and praying for it all to end.

In any way.


	2. Heaven

“Of all the places, he had to be here, didn’t he?”

“Don’t blame him, you know how _she _is.”

“Ok, ok.” Shiro puts his hands up in defeat. “And what’s the plan? We both know You-Know-Who won’t make it easy.”

“I just need to convince him to come with me. He may not remember me, but he is still Lance. I can do this.”

“Oh, they grow up so fast!”

“Shut up, Shiro.”

Keith stares at the man inside the golden cage, being careful to not let his hood fall off and expose him. Beautiful is not enough if a word to describe him. Tanned skin, brown hair, bluest eyes. Tall and slim.

_A piece of Heaven._

_Caged thanks to one’s obsession._

Allura had been their leader, their guide. She had taken them in, trained them and made them into the defenders of their empire. They had adored her like a God. Their Savior. None of them could’ve imagined she’d turn on them.

You see, Holy Paladins are people who are trained to protect the Holy Empire. They’re born, they’re chosen by the Priestess, they learn about magic and the world, they do their duties and then they die so the next generation of Paladins can exist. But Priestess Allura did not accept that. No, blind by her love for the Empire and the grief over her father, she refused to let go of her Paladins, bringing them back to life again and again.

By corrupting the circle of Life and Death, Priestess Allura corrupted her Paladins. One by one, they succumbed to the darkness and turned into demons.

The Priestess banned them and made sure that should they ever put foot inside her Empire, they’ll meet fate worse than Hell.

All the Paladins suffered the same destiny but one.

It is a mystery how the Blue Paladin resisted the corruption. Priestess Allura thinks it’s because he’s a Heaven sent gift to free her Empire of Evil. With that thought, she locks him away from the world, inside the chapel, and confines his world to that golden cage. To make sure he has no way to rebel, she takes always his power together with the memories of the others. He is, to her, an object of salvation.

“And it’s up to me to free him.” Keith whispers, purple eyes fixed on the sad man inside the cage.


	3. Relief

“It must be awfully lonely to live like this.”

Lance’s head snaps towards the voice. No one was supposed to be here, his “room” isa secret Allura had locked with seven keys. Quite literally, as the door has seven locks and each key is hidden in different places only the Priestess knows. So the man standing in the middle of the room should not be there. But he is. He has dark black hair and pale skin. A scar on his cheek. Piercing amethyst eyes. Dressed in black. He is very handsome.

“Who are you? Did Allura finally decide to make me ‘cleanse people’s sins personally’?” It is all he can think, as there is no way that man had entered his room in the middle of the night without Allura letting him in.

The man seems displeased by the thought, though, and takes two large steps so he can be right in front of the bed Lance is sitting on. Lance tenses, ready to take action the moment the guy does anything alarming, but the tension turns into confusion once the man raises a hand to softly caress his cheek. His hand is warm and rough, but comforting. His eyes shine with seriousness.

“I would never let that woman do that to you, Lance.”

Lance swallows, unconsciously leaning on the stranger’s touch, staring intensely at his beautiful eyes..

“How do you know my name?”

“You don’t remember me, but we know each other.” The man smiles, and something in him had longed for that smile so much, he can’t help but smile back. “I am Keith. Once we were friends, but that woman took you away from us.”

“Us?”

“There are others. Pidge, Hunk and Shiro. We’re all friends. We’re family.”

It makes no sense for Lance to believe that man. He knows no Keith. He knows nothing. He knows that once he was happy. But he knows not why. He knows Allura and the life she gave him. He knows not why. But something in him trusts Keith. Something in him longs for him. Something in him sings the names of those people like a well loved lullaby.

“Then why did I forget?”

“That woman. She did this to you and to us.” He must have made a conflicted expression for Keith now holds his face with both hands. “Lance, I know it’s hard to believe a stranger that suddenly appeared, but it is the truth. You need to believe me and come with me.”

“Where?”

“Where our family is, away from this place, away from this Empire. Where we can be happy.” He sounds desperate and Lance wants nothing more than to hug him.

“I don’t… I’m…”

“Allura is wrong, Lance. You’re not this world’s salvation, you’re just a man. An exceptional man who deserves happiness. I could take you to it.”

It could be one of Allura’s twisted plans. It could be a cruel prank of the Universe. But Lance is just so tired. He just wants it all to stop. He just wants to feel the Sun on his skin and remember the taste of laughter on his tongue. He wants Keith to take him away. He wants Keith to bring him to the family he supposedly has. And if it ends up being just one of the Universe’s ploy, Lance will forever cherish the small moment of relief.

“Please.”


End file.
